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For Immediate Release January 11, 1999
"In the 21st century, increasingly, a livable community will
be an economically powerful one.
-- Vice President Gore, Sept. 2, 1998
Vice President Gore is today launching a comprehensive Livability
Agenda to help communities across America grow in ways that ensure a
high quality of life and strong, sustainable economic growth. This
billion dollar initiative will strengthen the federal government's role
as a partner with the growing number of state and local efforts to
build "livable communities" for the 21st century.
Key elements of the interagency initiative -- to be included in
President Clinton's proposed FY 2000 budget -- will provide communities
with new tools and resources to preserve green space, ease traffic
congestion, and pursue regional "smart growth" strategies. As part of
the Livability Agenda, the Administration will continue to work with
and learn from states, communities, and other stakeholders, and to
develop new strategies to provide them with additional tools and
resources.
The Clinton-Gore Livability Agenda aims to help citizens and
communities:
Preserve green spaces that promote clean air and clean water,
sustain wildlife, and provide families with places to walk, play
and relax.
Ease traffic congestion by improving road planning,
strengthening existing transportation systems, and expanding use
of alternative transportation.
Restore a sense of community by fostering citizen and private
sector involvement in local planning, including the placement of
schools and other public facilities.
Promote collaboration among neighboring communities -- cities,
suburbs or rural areas -- to develop regional growth strategies
and address common issues like crime.
Enhance economic competitiveness by nurturing a high quality of
life that attracts well-trained workers and cutting-edge
industries.
The President's FY 2000 budget request to Congress will propose
significant new investments to support major Livability programs:
Better America Bonds -- To help communities reconnect with their
land and water, preserve green space for future generations,
and provide attractive settings for economic development, the
Administration is proposing a new financing tool generating
$9.5 billion in bond authority for investments by state, local
and tribal governments. The President's budget will propose tax
credits totaling more than $700 million over five years -- to
support Better America Bonds, which can be used to preserve
green space, create or restore urban parks, protect water quality,
and clean up brownfields (abandoned industrial sites). The
program will be coordinated through an interagency process.
Community Transportation Choices -- To help ease traffic
congestion, the proposed Department of Transportation budget for
FY 2000 will include a record $6.1 billion for public transit and
$2.2 billion -- a total 16 percent increase over FY 1999 -- to
aggressively implement innovative community-based programs in the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Such programs
provide flexible support to help communities create regional
transportation strategies, improve existing roads and transit,
and encourage broader use of alternative transportation. This
includes $1.6 billion for the Congestion Mitigation and Air
Quality Improvement Program, which supports state and local
projects that reduce congestion and improve air quality.
Regional Connections Initiative -- To promote regional "smart
growth" strategies and to complement the Administration's other
regional efforts, the Department of Housing and Urban Development
will provide $50 million as matching funds for local partnerships
to design and pursue smarter growth strategies across
jurisdictional lines. Strategies will include compact development
incentives, (b) coordinated reinvestment in existing
infrastructure, and (c) ways to manage reinforce the region's
overall development strategy.
Other Livability Initiatives -- The President's proposed FY 2000
budget will include funding for several other initiatives
supporting local livability efforts:
Community-Centered Schools -- A new $10 million grant program
administered by the Department of Education to encourage school
districts to involve the community in planning and designing new
schools.
Community-Federal Information Partnership -- A new $40 million
program funded by several agencies to provide communities with
grants for easy-to-use information tools to help develop
strategies for future growth.
Regional Crime-Data Sharing -- $50 million will be provided to
expand programs to help communities share information to
improve public safety. These programs will: (1) improve and
continue to computerize national, state, and local criminal
history records; and (2) develop or upgrade local
communications technologies and criminal justice identification
systems to help local law enforcement share information in a
timely manner.
The Livability Agenda integrates the commitments of more than a
dozen Federal agencies. The Agenda also supplements the various
programs that make up the Administration's Community Empowerment Agenda,
which is designed to encourage reinvestment in existing communities and
provide greater opportunity for their residents.